Davis Cup triumph ‘a dream come true’

CANADA lifted the Davis Cup for the first time after beating Australia in consecutive matches in Malaga on Sunday.

Denis Shapovalov got things started for the Canadians, who made their Davis Cup debut in 1913, beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4. The 23-year-old – 18th in the ATP rankings – pulled ahead against his opponent, breaking twice to take a 4-0 lead. It took just 32 minutes to settle the set.

Shapovalov missed his first opportunity to serve for the match at 5-2 in the second, allowing Kokkinakis to break back and eventually cut his lead to 5-4.

He made no mistake the second time of asking, however, and set up Felix Auger Aliassime for the winning match.

The Montreal native won handily, hitting six aces and 16 winners without seeing his serve broken en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory to clinch the title for a Canadian team that also included Vasek Pospisil, Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo.

“The emotions are tough to describe,” Auger Aliassime said. “I think all of us here, we’ve dreamt of this moment. These guys around me, except Vasek, he’s a little bit older, but we grew up together form the ages of seven, eight years old, back in Canada dreaming of being on this stage, winning these matches, winning the Davis Cup, so it’s really a dream come true.”